Richard II contains acutely observed and depicted characters and some wonderful lines. The production is uncomplicated and focuses on the essential. It is carried by a competent cast of actors who deliver their lines with great aplomb. This play is especially rewarding for those interested in politics or English history.
Anointed king at 10 years of age, Shakespeare’ s play deals with the last 2 turbulent years of Richard’s reign. At the beginning of the play, the King, known for his good looks, is called to arbitrate a bitter dispute between his cousin Henry Bolingbroke and Mowbray. He changes his mind several times on how to settle it. First he agrees to let them fight a duel; but then he interferes at the last moment and decides to banish both from England, Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for 6 years. He never explains that unequal treatment, which looks arbitrary to the other Barons. They sense their king is becoming dangerously arbitrary and perhaps quite insecure.
Relying on a very limited retinue of manipulative characters the king becomes ever more tyrannical and inconsistent in his decisions. When he needs money for a war in Ireland and hears that John of Gaunt is about to die, he alienates the landed nobility further by deciding to confiscate the dying man’s land and treasures rather than letting the inheritance pass on to Henry Bolingbroke. Enraged Henry returns early from banishment to take back what he sees as rightfully his. As things go very well for him, he decides to increase the level of his ambitions; or is it only that he decides to reveal the full extent of his ambitions only now? In any case, Henry now wants to force Richard to abdicate. But once Henry has wrested the crown from Richard, what to do with an ex-king who, while still alive, will always be a danger to the man who has deposed him?
For Shakespeare the wildly inconsistent Richard’s rule at the end of his reign, his narcissistic character and his inattention to keeping a wide group of his Baron’s satisfied, lies at the root of the coming Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York.
Richard II contains acutely observed and depicted characters and some wonderful lines. There is John of Gaunt’s declaration of affection for England, “This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, this earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise”, and there are Richard’s musings, as he realises his reign will come to a premature end “for within the hollow crown, that rounds the mortal temples of a king keeps Death his court”.
The production is uncomplicated and focuses on the essential. It is carried by a competent cast of actors who deliver their lines with great aplomb. Charles Edwards in the role of the capricious Richard II and Edward Gaunt as John of Gaunt, Richard’s uncle and the father of the usurper Henry Bolingbroke, stand out.
The risk you take when going to see a production at the semi-open-air Globe Theatre is that your enjoyment may be affected by the weather and other environmental factors that do not play much of a role at more conventional theatre venues. During the Friday Matinee performance of Richard II the clouds over London opened their floodgates and the passenger planes landing seemed to want to give their passengers a glimpse of the performance. The audience sitting on the covered benches stayed dry but could not hear all of the text while those standing in the pit probably heard every word, but did get absolutely drenched in the process.
Nevertheless, playing and watching Shakespeare in the rain at the Globe Theatre, "these scepter'd aisles this demi-covered stage", is inspiring; actors and the audience form a special bond and have a great time.
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/richard-ii-2015
Anointed king at 10 years of age, Shakespeare’ s play deals with the last 2 turbulent years of Richard’s reign. At the beginning of the play, the King, known for his good looks, is called to arbitrate a bitter dispute between his cousin Henry Bolingbroke and Mowbray. He changes his mind several times on how to settle it. First he agrees to let them fight a duel; but then he interferes at the last moment and decides to banish both from England, Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for 6 years. He never explains that unequal treatment, which looks arbitrary to the other Barons. They sense their king is becoming dangerously arbitrary and perhaps quite insecure.
Relying on a very limited retinue of manipulative characters the king becomes ever more tyrannical and inconsistent in his decisions. When he needs money for a war in Ireland and hears that John of Gaunt is about to die, he alienates the landed nobility further by deciding to confiscate the dying man’s land and treasures rather than letting the inheritance pass on to Henry Bolingbroke. Enraged Henry returns early from banishment to take back what he sees as rightfully his. As things go very well for him, he decides to increase the level of his ambitions; or is it only that he decides to reveal the full extent of his ambitions only now? In any case, Henry now wants to force Richard to abdicate. But once Henry has wrested the crown from Richard, what to do with an ex-king who, while still alive, will always be a danger to the man who has deposed him?
For Shakespeare the wildly inconsistent Richard’s rule at the end of his reign, his narcissistic character and his inattention to keeping a wide group of his Baron’s satisfied, lies at the root of the coming Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York.
Richard II contains acutely observed and depicted characters and some wonderful lines. There is John of Gaunt’s declaration of affection for England, “This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, this earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise”, and there are Richard’s musings, as he realises his reign will come to a premature end “for within the hollow crown, that rounds the mortal temples of a king keeps Death his court”.
The production is uncomplicated and focuses on the essential. It is carried by a competent cast of actors who deliver their lines with great aplomb. Charles Edwards in the role of the capricious Richard II and Edward Gaunt as John of Gaunt, Richard’s uncle and the father of the usurper Henry Bolingbroke, stand out.
The risk you take when going to see a production at the semi-open-air Globe Theatre is that your enjoyment may be affected by the weather and other environmental factors that do not play much of a role at more conventional theatre venues. During the Friday Matinee performance of Richard II the clouds over London opened their floodgates and the passenger planes landing seemed to want to give their passengers a glimpse of the performance. The audience sitting on the covered benches stayed dry but could not hear all of the text while those standing in the pit probably heard every word, but did get absolutely drenched in the process.
Nevertheless, playing and watching Shakespeare in the rain at the Globe Theatre, "these scepter'd aisles this demi-covered stage", is inspiring; actors and the audience form a special bond and have a great time.
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/richard-ii-2015
Send to pweter katz highgate ex lse and tbeatergoer. Sergei
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